Legal News
G4S offers to repay £24m in electronic tagging overcharges (20 November 2013)
Date: 20/11/2013
Security firm G4S has told the Ministry of Justice it will refund more than £24 million to the government, after overcharging for the service it provided for electronic tagging offenders.
The Serious Fraud Squad is currently investigating the company, after an audit discovered that G4S had charged for electronically tagging prisoners who were dead, still in jail – or who were not eligible to be tagged.
G4S has admitted overcharging by £24.1m after carrying out its own inquiry into the overcharging. A spokesman said that although overcharging had been confirmed, the company’s own inquiry had not “identified any evidence of dishonesty or criminal conduct by any employee of G4S”.
G4S said the discrepancy in electronic tagging costs was the result of the company “wrongly considered itself to be contractually entitled to bill for monitoring services when equipment had not been fitted or after it had been removed”.
The company has estimated it overcharged by £23.3m for the period from 2005 to May 2013 – and a further £800,000 for June 2013 onwards.
Chief executive of G4S Ashley Almanza will face the Public Accounts Committee today (20/11/13), as will executives from G4S rival Serco, which also supplies electronic tagging services to the government and faces allegations relating to these services.
G4S has made changes in senior staff since the electronic tagging scandal broke.
Ashley Almanza said:
“The way in which this contract was managed was not consistent with our values or our approach to dealing with customers. Simply put, it was unacceptable and we have apologised to the Ministry of Justice.”
For more information, see Duncan Lewis Crime Solicitors.